The 5 Trials of Lord Daeloneil
by Nerwen Sirfalas
Summary: About a Girl who falls into the story of her own book, and must save her people from complete destruction as a community. She has to collect the 5 stones from the regoins of the world she is in to save her people, and find her "treasure."
1. Default Chapter

Sitting on my bed with my knees pulled up and the sheet pulled over my head, I read my story by the faint light of my flashlight. I had to keep the beam low, my parent's room was right down the hall. They always made me keep my door open, (one of those Mom and Dad security things), but the book was getting really good and my imagination was getting the better of me. I held the light steady. It was all I could do to control my excitement from growing.  
The book was called, "Lord Daeloneil , The new Elvin Empire". It was part of a five book series, and it was the last one. I was on the last five chapters, with each page getting better and better as I went along. I was on the part when the leader of the Elvin people had reunited the kingdom and was congratulating the hero who had saved them from the monster inside the cave a few miles away. I wanted to know if he got to marry the leader's daughter, but I wasn't going to get to know, because a second later, I heard footsteps coming down the hall and saw my Dad's silhouette in my door frame.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * I woke up that morning with thoughts of the Elvin citizens celebrating. I couldn't wait until first class period, reading. It would be the perfect time to finish the book, and satisfy my brain which was now starving from the excitement of the story from the night before. I took a shower, got dressed, and had my breakfast, (cold mashed potatoes. My Mom hadn't been out shopping in a while). I went into my Mom's room to wake her up to take me to school. As usual, her snores were loud enough to wake up the whole neighborhood. As much as I tried, I couldn't wake her. I glanced at the clock, ten minutes until first period. I shoved her a little harder.  
"Jus gimme a fe mror muntis," I heard her mumble sleepily. Knowing my Mom, she wouldn't get up for at least another hour. I pushed the over so her face was facing upward. I patted her cheeks to wake her up.  
"Alright, I'm getting up." She said. Slowly, very slowly, about a year slowly, she got up out of bed and crawled over to her bathroom. I waited, light on, water running, toilet flushing, the sounds of my mother in the morning. I glanced again at the clock. It read 8:05. Great, just great. Five precious minutes of Daeloneil reading ripped away. After about 5 more minutes, my Mom skipped out of the bathroom, now adorned in makeup, hairspray, and nail polish.  
"CAN WE go now?" I asked impatiently.  
"Of course we can." She replied sweetly, walking briskly past me twirling her key ring around her finger.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
As soon as I got to school, I raced into my classroom. Everyone looked up at me. My teacher peered at from over the rim of her glasses.  
"Ms. Robinson, you know you need an attendance slip if you are going to be late, now march right back out that door. I want to see a pink slip in your hand when you get back."  
"Yes, Mrs. Gerald." I said painfully. I walked back out of the door and quietly closed it behind me.  
As I walked to the attendance office, I looked up at the school clock, now 40 minutes past Eight. "This just isn't fair. Why does my mother always have to sleep in so late?" I opened the door to the office. The secretary looked up at me and smiled.  
"Why, hello Jennifer, your mom just came by. She said to give this to you when you came in for your late slip." I looked down at what she was holding. My lunch, in my old broken Teletubbies lunch pail. My eyes grew wide. This must be her way of getting back at me. I glanced around nervously. "Good, nobody around."  
"Umm, thanks Mrs. Sernan." I said with a rush. I grabbed my lunch, the late slip and tried to run to the door before anybody saw me. Before I could turn the door handle and step out, someone on the other side of the door opened it instead. The door hit me in the face. I fell backwards, letting go of the lunch box. It came down on my head with a klinck and split open. Peanut butter and juice everywhere. I forced myself to look up. I could feel the color in my cheeks darkening quickly. Standing there looking down at me with peanut butter all over my face, was Nick Jennings.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
When I got home that afternoon, all I could think about was the incident that morning. "Oh my gosh..he must think I'm a total dork now". Nick Jennings was the guy I liked. Not liked maybe,..but loved. " Now any chance I may have had with him is gone," I thought. And it was all because of my stupid mother. "My stupid mother." The words kelp revolving around in my head. "And my stupid dad, too. It's his fault I couldn't finish the book in the first place."  
"I HATE my family!!" I screamed, and chucked my backpack at the bedroom wall. Then I stopped and thought for a second. "Well, nobody is going to stop me now from reading my book, so I guess I will". I walked over to my backpack, now with a much happier feeling towards it. I unzipped it, carefully taking out the book. Just as I was about to open it up and start to read those beautiful words, my Mom knocked at the door and told me dinner was ready. I stuck out my tongue at the door.  
"Coming." I said.  
Dinner was pretty normal, except for the glares I kept getting from my mother for "patting her face." She claimed I had hit her. Typical.  
After dinner, I was finally allowed to be left alone in my room. I opened my window to let in some air, and sat down on my bed with the book. I opened up to page 378 and started reading. Before I even got to the second sentence, my mind was already drowning in the fantasy world of elves and magic. After what seemed like years of adventure, the last few pages turned near. The words seemed like they were getting bigger, almost dancing like flames in front of my eager eyes. I drank in the letters, words, and sentences that were my dreams. The last page was before my eyes. It read:  
And so, the Elvin folk of the forest lived  
their days of happiness and prosperity,  
feeding off of each others happiness until  
there was too much to go around. It wasn't until  
200 years had passed that their leader had had  
enough. There were too many good things  
happening. They needed some change, some  
adventure. And not too soon, for a stranger had entered  
there land of peace and happiness. Later that week,  
the leader awoke to find his one daughter sprawled across  
his bed, covered in blood.  
  
I turned to the next page. It was blank. That was it. That was the end.  
I couldn't believe it. That couldn't be all."there must be another page or something." I thought anxiously. Quickly I flipped the pages to the end, looking for a tear mark after the last page. I found none. "That must really be it then." I thought sadly, and turned to the window. I could see the sun setting behind the house next to mine. I looked up into the sky. And that's when I saw it. The first star of the night. The big, beautiful north star. Then a thought came to me. Kind of stupid, but hey what's there to lose, right?  
"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight" I chanted softly. "I wish I may, I wish I might, have a wish I make tonight. I wish that..that..I could get away from my parents and know what happens next in the book. I want to see, no live the real ending." I pulled the covers over my head, and drifted off to sleep.  
  
Rumble.Rumble.Swish.Rumble. "I'm going to get you, you know you stupid little girl." Said a voice from the shadows. Rumble. Rumble.Swish. "You can't get away. Your trapped.FOREVER." Rumble.Swish.Rumble.  
"AHH!! NO! don't get me! Stay away!" I screamed and woke with a start. I found myself staring into the black that was my room. I ran my hands through my hair. The strands that were once soft and dry were wet and sticky. Sweat, and a lot of it. My shirt was sticking to my back. I laid back down and tried to think of what I was dreaming before I woke up. All I could remember was a sort of rumbling swishing noise. I closed my eyes. Rumble...rumble...SWISH, It was really loud now. Whatever it was, it was in my room! I felt my fingers feeling for the light next to my bed. Before I could flick it on, however, my whole room illuminated with a blinding white light. I searched frantically around for the noise. Then I saw it. My weather ball was shaking violently and exploding over the top. I had never seen it do that before. Then my mind switched back onto the light situation. "How had they come on so quickly?" My question was answered though, when a portal of some sort opened up right over the weather ball. It looked like a hovering mass of bright yellow, swirling just as violently as the ball was shaking. Without thinking, I grabbed the weather ball. I don't know why I did it, an impulse, maybe. As soon as my fingers touched the delicate glass, a pulling sensation behind my navel gave me a shove like being pulled downward. Downward into absolute blackness and unknown.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * 


	2. Chapter 1

I felt my back hit stone cold floor. I didn't want to open my eyes afraid of what I might see. I could feel the weather ball, surprisingly still intact in my hands. Blindly, I ran my fingers up and down the spout to make sure it hadn't chipped when I hit the floor. Nope. Still smooth as silk. "I wonder where I am.Well, wherever it is, it's cold. That's for sure." I thought. I decided to open my eyes and at least see where I was. I creaked them open, little by little, letting little slits of light into my eyes until they were open and bright. I wasn't staring at a wall as I expected, but a painting. Not a normal painting, either. It seemed to be a large drapery cloth with a masterpiece painted onto its' surface. The edges were elegantly tasseled and the cloth was fine woven silk canvas. The picture on the material was of a girl and the look on her face of uttermost importance. The realism was absolutely magnificent. "Actually, she looks incredibly familiar." I thought. Being careful not to drop the weather ball, I pushed myself off the ground, massaging my upper back from the pain that was still there. I walked towards the drapery, my eyes transfixed upon the girl's face. I placed one finger on her cheek half expecting her to jump out at me or something it looked so real. As soon as my finger touched the cloth, an instant thought rammed into my brain. Carefully, I set the weather ball on the ground and made sure it was properly balanced. I put my finger back onto the cloth, then took my other finger, and placed it directly on my own face in the exact spot as the cloth. Then I knew.  
"It's me..The picture-it's of me." I said with a shaky voice.  
For what seemed like hours and hours, I just stood there, staring at her. I knew she was supposed to be me, but why? With much acquired effort, I tore my eyes away. I needed to find out where I was, and why this picture was here. I picked the weather ball back up off the ground and tightly secured my hands around it. Because of the drapery, I had failed to notice that I was in a well-lit corridor with candelabras all along the walls. The walls happened to be engraved delicately with images of knights on their horses. There was a another painting too, now that I was seeing the rest of the area around me. This one, however, wasn't on cloth. It was painted directly onto the wall itself. The detail and masterwork was still the same though. "Whoever panted these must be extremely good. They must have taken hours of time to paint." I thought. I looked closer at the one on the wall, and checked the lower right hand corner for an artist's signature. To my surprise, there was. Not only that, but a title for the piece. It was named "LORD DAELONEIL" I gasped. "LORD DAELONEIL?!?!" I ran back to the one that looked like me, and it was named, Ms. Nerwen Sirfalas of the Elvin Empire. "Elvin Empire?!!? What in the world?"  
With these new thoughts, I looked at the artist. Both of them were signed: Lord Daeloniel?? Elvish. Then it came to me. I remembered my wish from earlier that night. It had come true. I was now in the story of Lord Daeloneil.  
I stared down the corridor, now realizing what my situation was. I was in a new world, completely out of my normal life. No Mom or Dad. I was now going to see what was to happen in the story. Clutching the weather ball, with high hopes, I set off down the corridor. There were many doors along the walls and I tried each in turn only find that they were locked. After a few minutes of this, I came about twenty feet from another door. This one was open with a dim golden glare coming from it. The kind of glow you get from a fire. Then I heard voices. I took a few steps towards the door and the voices stopped abruptly. I considered turning around and going the other way, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. Before I had time to, though, a man stepped out from the room. He was now looking directly at my hand which was still holding my weather ball. A smile spread across his face and he beckoned me to accompany him into the room with the other man. There was nothing else I could do. I followed him into the room. He closed the door behind me so we were alone in the room with the other man by the fire. In the light, I could properly study the attire of the both of them. Both of them were Elvish, I could tell because of their ears. Elves always had pointy ears. They wore that of royalty, with many elegant colors and velvety textures. The man who had let me in seemed a bit higher class than the other one. This was easy to tell, since a large staff was in his hand, the tip encrusted with diamonds. He wore a dark ocean blue tunic, the strands to tie it looked of the finest leather. His boots looked like dragon hide, and he wore a cloak of black velvet, trimmed with a light layer of black fur. He only looked to be in his late thirties and a mustache and small beard were visible. His eyes were open, though. They were stern, but at the same time gentle enough to play with a child. There was no gray in his hair whatsoever. Actually, he looked like he had been that age for a very long time. The other man looked much older. His clothes were a little more tired looking. They were much the same, except his tunic was brown and the cloak a bright white. And instead of a staff, he held a rolled up piece of parchment in his hands.  
The younger looking man pulled up a soft cushioned chair next to the fire and motioned for me to sit down. As I was doing so, I couldn't help but notice the older man looking at me, and in a way I didn't particularly like. His look was scornful, as if I was someone not capable of completing a simple task. I decided to ignore it and sat myself down in the chair.  
"Welcome, we have been expecting you." The young man said. His voice was deep and confident. "My name is Daeloneil and my friend here is Minister Ancalime. Please feel free to." but I was only half listening now. Did he just say he was the Lord Daeloneil? The one who all the stories were about? I looked at him and then realized, that yes it must be him. The descriptions from the book fit him perfectly.  
"Do you understand now what it is you are supposed to do?" Daeloneil said to me.  
"Wha-what?" I asked in a puzzled sort of way. After all, I was only half listening.  
"Do you understand why you are here?"  
"No."  
"Then I will explain," said Daelondeil. "Please listen closely. About a month ago, our beloved daughter of the Elvin Empire, Nerwen, was killed. By whom, we do not know. It was believed that a stranger entered the kingdom not long ago and that they had something to do with it. When Nerwen was found, this was clenched in her hand":  
  
  
  
I looked at the parchment, and tried to look at it like I knew what it said. I looked up at Daelondeil as if I had read it. But he only replied,  
"You do not fool me. I know you cannot read elvish. It says:  
  
"She is coming, and she  
will find her  
treasure to save us  
all."  
  
"That She is you, Jennifer." He said, and lowered his head as if in sadness. "You are to finish what she could not. You see Jennifer, she could see visions. She saw her own death before it happened. She knew you were going to come, because when you find your treasure, we all do. She died so you could save us all from our state and put us into the lives that we wanted. We do not want to be the same anymore. There are no differences in our community. We are all alike. She tried to change that.but as you see, she failed." He brought his head back up, and had a pleading look in his eyes. "So, we ask of you to fulfill her task and find your treasure." I didn't say anything. I understood, but I had no idea what he meant by "treasure."  
"What do you mean my treasure? What treasure?" I said.  
"The treasure you are supposed to find. Nerwen said you had a treasure." He replied.  
"Well, I don't know of any treasure. And I'm not sure how I'm supposed to find it, anyway.  
"That's because she doesn't have one." The minister spoke. He turned to Lord Daeloneil and started to explain. "Nerwen had no idea what she was thinking. We don't even know if her visions were real. She could have been lying. Don't pull this thing," he said and pointed at me, "into this. We don't need her help. She's not even one of us." He finished with a snarl.  
"That's just it though," said Daeloneil, "she's not one of us. That's what makes her the perfect person to do the job. She can't get sucked back into our way of life. She has no feeling for it." Ancalime grunted, and turned to the fire, staring into it with rage. I had the feeling he knew Daeloneil was right.  
"Jennifer, you understand now, what your task is? To find your treasure?" He asked.  
"I still don't know what my treasure is. What IS it?" I asked a little impatiently.  
"That, I am afraid, I cannot help you with. That is for you to find out for yourself." Daeloneil said. "I can, however set you on a path towards it. You see that mountain, over there, out the window?" he said, pointing out a window that strangely wasn't there a few seconds ago. "Over that mountain, there will be a path for you. From what Nerwen said, there are 5 obstacles, or trials, you must complete before you can have your treasure. She said by then, you will have an understanding. But what that is, I do not know." I looked out the window again and stared at the mountain. "5 trials.to find my treasure? To find an understanding? Of what? What do I not understand already?"  
"You may stay here in the castle for the night. Tomorrow, the village will be open for you to gather anything you might need. The day after that, you will leave for the mountain." Daeloneil said. "It is time for me to leave. I will see you in the morning. Please sleep well." And Lord Daeloneil left the room, followed by the minister, his facial expression unchanged. He closed the door behind him, and I was left alone in the room. I gazed down at the weather ball, now remembering I still had it. And strangely, I felt very comforted knowing it was in my hands.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * 


	3. Chapter 2

I awoke the next morning to find that the room I was in last night was totally gone. Instead, a bedroom had taken its place and I was no longer comfortably asleep in a chair, but in a king size bed with silk sheets. There were silver colored privacy drapes that hung over the bed, and I pulled them away at the side to see a window in front of me. The sun was spilling through, and the mountain I had seen before loomed out over the hills. It strangely seemed much larger than it had last night.  
I climbed out of the bed with some difficulty, as it happened taller than me. I expected my feet to touch stone, but instead, a velvety rich carpet that felt like feathers under my feet. I looked over the room, and to my surprise I found a complete set of clothes, all elvish attire, set out for me on a chair. I ran my fingers over the soft material, admiring at the expertise of the stitching. On the other side of the room, there was a water basin, and next to it towels, what looked like some kind of soap, and a weird looking comb. Over the basin was a mirror set in a silver frame, and engraved with some kind of writing I could not read. The last noticeable thing in the room was an oak desk, and sitting upon it a golden platter complete with the most delicious food imaginable. It had every food you could ever want for breakfast, including bacon, eggs, omelets, fried potatoes, absolutely everything. This catching my attention, I completely forgot about my new clothes, and rushed over to the plate of food. There was also an ice-cold pitcher of milk, and a golden goblet set aside. I poured some into the cup, and started eating. About half way through my breakfast, there was a knock on the door. Lord Daeloneil stepped in, and greeted me with a smile. I smiled back with a mouthful of eggs.  
"I see you are enjoying your breakfast." He said, and sat down on the bed. He was taller than me, but I was amazed at how he just sat down as if the bed were at his height.  
"Thank you for the food.and clothes." I said to him. Now that I was finished eating, my mind was back on the clothes situated so perfectly on the chair. My hands itched to touch them again and put them on.  
"The village has been told to give you anything you might need for your journey. Here is a sack for your materials." Daeloneil said, holding a leather sack out for me to take. I was surprised to see that it was quite small. Seeing the look on my face, Daeloneil smiled again.  
"This sack isn't as small as you think. It can hold an extreme amount of weight, and not weigh anything at all. Please don't think your space is limited. You may take as much as you like, and it will all fit for you." He said, reassuring me. I took the sack, and felt it with my fingers. It was a leather sack, and a thin strip of another piece sewn through holes at the top of the bag to tighten and close it with a knot. It was very smooth, and I liked its touch very much. I was pleased to see that it slung over my back very easily.  
"Also.take this." Daeloneil said quietly, and handed me a silver box. "As long as this box is closed, it cannot be opened by anyone but you. You might find that this will be needed, and sooner than you think. The people in the village will not harm you, but I cannot say that for anyone else when you leave here. The mountain is our boundary to the other lands. Please do not take anyone for granted. Trust no one other than yourself," he finished. He looked very grave now. Seeing him like this sent shivers up my spine. It was now that I fully realized what I had to do. It didn't seem so easy now that the moment was actually coming. I didn't say anything in response, although I knew he knew I understood.  
"This will be the last time I will see you before you leave. You may use this room again for tonight's sleep. Please enjoy your stay here. Goodbye." Daeloneil stepped out of the room and closed the door. Remembering the box and sack, I looked down. There they were, in my hands. I opened the sack to put the box inside, but something had already taken its place. Inside was a note. It read:  
  
You are probably  
Wondering about your  
Glass ball. Putting it in the sack  
Will bring no harm to it. I forgot  
To mention, any position you put  
Something into the sack, it will stay that way.  
Please take care.  
  
-daeloneil  
Y  
  
?You are probably  
wondering about your  
glass ball. Putting it in the sack  
will bring no harm to it. I forget  
to mention, any position you put  
something into the sack, it will stay that way.  
Please take care.)  
  
-DAELONEIL-  
  
"The weather ball! I almost forgot about it!" Quickly I searched the room for it. I found it neatly placed by the bed on a nightstand. "Could it really hold the weather ball with out breaking it or spilling it?" I decided to try it out. Carefully, I placed it inside the sack. Then I picked it up and put it onto my back. It felt like nothing at all. I could barely feel it against my back. I walked around the room, and even jumped a few times. Then I set the bag down on a chair, and opened it up. The weather ball was in the exact same spot and position I had put it in. "With this, I could carry anything." I thought. I took the weather ball out and set it back on the nightstand. Picking up the silver box, I put into the sack and tried it out too. It worked just the same. With my new treasure, I would have no problem at all carrying things.  
I decided to start getting ready for my trip to the "village." I put on the clothes set out for me, (which happened to fit perfectly) and washed my face and hands. I decided to leave the weather ball on the night stand, since I was staying the night again. Now ready, I picked up the sack with the box and headed for the door. Before closing it, I took one last look in the room. I had the strangest feeling it would change again before I came back, but instinctively, I knew my weather ball would be safe.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * 


	4. Chapter 3

I didn't have any trouble finding my way out of the castle. The room seemed to be close to the entrance hall of the place, so finding the doors wasn't difficult. I stepped outside and a cool breeze brushed into my face. It felt really good. I took a look around, seeing a garden over to my side and a fountain in front of me. It was of a pheasant woman, with her hand outstretched to a child. In her other hand, she was holding a pot of water, of which water was now spilling out of it into a pool below. It was quite beautiful, actually. The garden was the most extraordinary I had ever seen, with every flower imaginable growing in groups and clusters. The scent coming from them was absolutely lavishing.  
I walked past the garden and fountain to the main gates, which were open. Next to them, was a sign with what I guessed to be a map of the village. The writing was all in elvish, so I couldn't read it. I could tell that the biggest building on the map was where I was, the castle. The closest shop in the village looked to be weaponry. I decided to start there. I would need some defense for myself, and this seemed to be the place where I would find it.  
I set off, walking down a dirt road with the smell of jasmine floating through the air. There was a light breeze, and the sun was shining brightly. There wasn't any noise, except for the chirping of birds and trickle of water from a nearby stream or creek. "This is much different from what I am used to at home, where everything is noisy and loud". I stopped walking abruptly. "Back at home." The thought went through my mind. "With my Mom and Dad."  
"Who wouldn't care if I was gone anyway." I said aloud, erasing the image of my mothers face from my head. I continued down the road trying not to think about my family. I must have been getting close to the village, because I heard the bustle of voices and violins playing softly. My guess was right, and I came walking down a slope into the village with a happy skip in my step. The thought of meeting new people and seeing a real elvin village excited me, and I was ready to start my adventure.  
  
The first thing I saw when I walked into the village would have made anybody stop dead on their feet. You wouldn't have believed it if you had seen it. Every single person.was wearing the exact same thing. They had the same color hair, same color eyes, and same color skin. You only could tell them apart by age or if they were male or female. They all wore the same green tunics with brown boots. There hair color was all shades of blondes. I was so surprised by what I saw that I didn't notice my mouth was hanging open, and that the townsfolk were gathering around looking at me. After a second this caught my attention, and before me were the majority of the people there. Without saying anything and not wanting to be rude, I looked for the sign to the weaponry shop. I saw one with a picture of a sword, and some scribbled words, and guessed that that must be it. I edged my way through the crowd and slipped into the shop.  
It looked just as I had imagined it would. With heads of animals on the walls, displays of swords and shields, and a quiver for every kind of arrow you would ever want, this was a hunters' paradise. I walked around, admiring the handy work put into the weapons. As I started to walk over to the section with the slingshots, something caught my eye. I turned around, and saw the most beautiful bow I had ever seen. On it were carvings of some elvish design, and painted with gold and deep red-brown. On each end, instead of wooden tips, were golden topaz gems, perfectly fitted to a round point. I walked over to it quickly and slowly went to pick it up to feel the hold of it. But before I could touch it, a man came out from behind a counter.  
"I see you fancy young Nerwen's bow." He said with a heavy elvish accent.  
"This was Nerwen's?" I asked, now even more interested in it. The shop keeper looked happy that I was so intent on it.  
"Oh yes. Nerwen loved that bow. She was very good at archery. You see here on its side? Her name is engraved." He said, picking up the bow with delicacy and turning it over. There was her name, engraved in elvish black writing.  
"Wow. How amazing." I said to him, looking at it with a new kind of admiration. "Lord Daeloneil said I could get anything I might need for my- er." I stopped, thinking it might not be a good idea to share about my trip.  
"Ah, do not worry. I have spoken with Daeloneil. It is alright." He said in reassurance. "I know of your journey, as do the other villagers and shopkeepers. Please do not hesitate to ask us anything." Feeling much better, I decided to ask him if I could have the bow for my weapon..  
"Uh, do you think...that I could.maybe.have it?" I asked with caution. I had no idea what it might cost, and I didn't want to take advantage of the options that were given to me. The shopkeeper smiled.  
"Of course. Please, take anything you think you might need." He replied, with absolutely no hesitation at all.  
"Quality arrows are only fitted for a top quality bow," he said "and I have just the arrows for you." He walked over the section where the quivers of arrows were kept, and came back with 100 arrows, and a fine quality quiver.  
"Here you are," he said "And do take care of them. Nerwen used these for herself as well. I have been waiting for someone like you to come along. Now, let me show you how it all works..."  
Within the next to hours, I had become pretty good at hitting various targets. I wasn't the best, but with lots of practice, the shopkeeper said I could catch on quickly. He even showed my how to make my own arrows once the first ones were gone. He also gave me a small sword with a hilt, one of Nerwen's hunting knife's, and a nice leather belt to hold the sword on. I left the shop feeling like I had made a new friend, and feeling much better about my chances on finding the treasure and completing the 5 tasks.  
At first, having a bow on my back and a sword at my side felt a little weird, but as I walked around the feeling wore off and I came to like it. I was looking more and more like one of the elves now, and I was very happy.  
My next stop was the Alchemy shop, and I was a little apprehensive about it. I had no education about medicines and herbs, let alone exactly what I needed in case I came down with a severe sickness. Since I would be traveling alone, I felt it nessasary to have some kind of ointment in case I started to feel funny. I hoped the owner in the shop new as much about medicine as I didn't.  
I pushed the door open into the shop, and instantly I could smell something cooking. It wasn't a pleasant smell, more like cooked cabbage and old socks. The person brewing the concoction looked up as I entered the shop, and immediately stood up and bowed to me. I had no idea what he was doing, and I took a step towards him to tell him he didn't need to bow. But he got up instead.  
"Oh, Mistress Nerwen, I am so pleased to see you back." He said, with his eyes closed.  
"Um...excuse me, I am not Nerwen." I said to him, a little uneasy. He opened his eyes, and looked at me with much surprise.  
"Oh! I am very sorry! You see, when you walked in, you looked just like her. That bow- "Was hers." I interrupted. "I'm not Nerwen, but the bow is hers. I am sorry for the misunderstanding." He looked at me a little more closely, and seemed to believe me.  
"I was hoping you could help me." I said to him, trying to change the subject. "I need some medicine and knowledge of plants and herbs for my journey. Could you tell me anything?" I asked him. Right away, as if on cue, he hurried off into some shelves and came back with an armful of glass bottles filled with different colored substances. He also had a book which I guessed to be information on wild plants.  
"Please come over here to the table." He said, and carried everything with him. He pulled up two chairs, and we both sat down. He laid out the bottles in some kind of order, then handed me the book.  
"That book contains information on wild edible and medicinal herbs. If you open it, you will see that it is not in elvish, but in another language. The Lord said someone was coming and told me to give them this book. I cannot read it, but I have the knowledge that you can. I do know however that every plant in that book can be found in the mountains, so you might want to go on a hunt for them if you have the time. Now, did you say that you needed some medicine for a trip? With that, I can help you with."  
  
After about an hour, I thanked him and left the shop with the book and medicine I would need. He also gave me a bag for any plants I might find and want to keep. He said the bag would keep them fresh for weeks. I put everything into my sack and walked out back into the hustle and bustle of the village. It was around lunch time now, and I could here children laughing and playing in the shops. "This a very nice place. I wouldn't mind living here." I thought to myself. "The only problem is, is there's no individuality. That might get depressing after a while." And actually, now that I was paying attention, the town's people did seem a little different in their attitude, like they had been playing the same game over and over and over again. I felt a pang of sadness towards them, and then remembered that it would be me who would be able to change all that. It gave me hope. It would be nice to see so many same faces turn different.  
Remembering what I was here to do, I put my mind back on gathering supplies, and looked into my sack. The only things left that I needed were food supplies and general things, like rope, blankets, and extra clothes. I headed for the clothing shop first, while humming to a catchy tune from the violin players.  
I heard the tinkling of a door bell as I stepped into the shop. There were already other customers in the store, so I decided to look around first instead of directly talking to the owner. I started to think about what I would need. "Defiantly a cloak for sure." I thought. I walked over to where there colder weather things were, and I looked down at the line of clothes.  
"I should have known." I said aloud. Each one was exactly alike. They all had the same brown color, trimmed with brown fur, and a hood. I picked one off the rack and looked at its size. It looked to be about mine, so I tried it on. It fit really well. I decided to keep it, so I put it under my arm and walked over to the next section of clothes. I decided I didn't need very many sets of tunics and pants. Travelers usually didn't carry around a whole lot of clothes, but I wanted at least one extra set of regular clothes. I checked the sizes until I found mine, then I put them under my arm too. The last thing I needed was some really good boots. For this, I needed to ask the owner what boots were good for hiking, and that were water-proof. I walked over to the owner, who was now finishing with another customer. He looked up as I came near him.  
"I will be with you in a second." He said to me, and then finished with the other person. When he was done, I asked him my question.  
"Um.excuse me, could you tell me which boots are best for hiking any terrain and that are water-proof?" I asked him uncertainly. His face lighted up, and beckoned me toward the boots section.  
"These I think will fit your request." He said, and picked up a pair and handed them to me. They were extremely heavy.  
"Are you sure I can even walk in these?" I asked him. It was now getting very difficult to hold all the clothes, and now the boots. Seeing the look of concern on my face, he just nodded his head and took the boots away from me.  
"You see, when you put them on, they feel extremely light. They feel heavy now, but that's because once you are over the mountain, elvin-made boots are extremely rare to come by. Wanderers are looking for them everywhere. They only know them by the fact that they are really light. We make them heavy, but when you walk in them, you couldn't tell that they weighed one pound." He said all of this with much confidence, and I believed him. He helped me with my other purchases, and then I was ready for the next shop.  
I stepped out of the door (tinkle tinkle) and made my way over to the general store. There were very large windows in the front, and you could see almost everything inside. It had just about anything you could ever need or want. The door was already open, and I made my way inside. I saw the owner and asked him what kind of things I would need for a long journey, including food. He showed me all the supplies I would need, and how to use each properly. I learned what kinds of food lasted the longest, and I got enough to last me about 2 months. I didn't need to carry any water, since there would be many streams and rivers to drink from. After I was finished, I thanked him, put everything into my sack, (which now I could feel a bit of weight.) and headed back to the castle.  
When I got back, the sun was setting behind the trees to the east. It was a most breathtaking sight to see. There were so many colors in the sky. It looked a pastel painting if a rainbow. I stood there looking up for about 5 minutes, then resumed my trip back into the castle.  
When I got to my room, the door was closed. I opened it to find a completely different room. (Ha I knew it) It was still a bedroom, but a new bed was there and a huge library was stationed next to a grand fireplace. There was another room connected to it, and as I looked into it, I saw that it was a bathroom, complete with a pool tub. Very happy about this, I scrambled out of my clothes and took a very hot bath. There were some kind of pajamas set out for me, and I put those on when I finished. It was dark now, and I felt the weight of my eyelids growing every second. I crawled into bed (which wasn't taller than me this time) and got under the covers. It was extremely comfortable. I leaned to the side to blow out the candle at my bed, and saw my weather ball there instead. "I'd better not forget that tomorrow morning." I thought to myself, and reached to the side of it to blow out the candle. I sank back into the bed, and didn't even have time to think about the events of the day before I had fallen into a deep sleep.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * 


	5. Chapter 4

I awoke that morning refreshed and ready to start. I was going to miss the castle and the village full of people, but I needed to go to help them. Quickly I dressed and ate my breakfast. I was feeling a little nervous, and I hoped that at least someone would go with me to the foot of the mountain.  
After I was finished with everything, I checked my sack one last time to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. I remembered my weather ball by the side of the bed, and put that into my sack too. With that, I left the room and quietly made my way out of the castle. When I stepped outside, I noticed that there wasn't any noise. I guess even the birds knew I was leaving. I walked down the path toward the mountain without looking back. I had the strangest feeling someone was watching me as I was leaving, but I didn't turn around.  
I got to the mountain much sooner than I would have liked. I stood there and looked up at it. It must have been at least ten thousand feet tall, and about five thousand wide. I suddenly didn't feel so confident as I had earlier.  
There were many rocks protruding from the strangest places, their sizes ranging from pebbles to great buildings. Right away I noticed the many plants and shrubs sticking from the ground, as well as the variety of trees. I took my first step onto the sloped edge, and started walking upwards. As I was doing this, I pulled out my book on herbs and plants and started to identify the things around me. I even stopped a few times to pick a helpful plant and put in my bag. After about 3 hours of this, lunch time grew near, and the sounds of my stomach could be heard throughout the forest. I heard a creek nearby, so I followed the sound until I reached it. I filled my cup, and sat down on a flat rock to drink and eat. I drank deeply, feeling it as it seeped down my throat. Within seconds, I had drained the cup. I filled it again and took a few sips before setting it down to get out some food. I took out some cheese and bread, and began to eat my lunch. As I ate, I listened to the sounds of the forest. I could hear many birds now, talking to each other in there own languages. Every now and then a squirrel or chipmunk would scurry by my feet, then tumble into bushes and watch me with there small eyes.  
When I was done with my lunch, I packed my cup and started back up the mountain. It was truly a beautiful day, with the sun spilling through the branches of the trees and on to the forest floor. It seemed very odd that no one from the village would want to come here. "All they said about the mountain was there were wanderers.and untrustworthy" thieves. But I had not seen one other person since I started climbing.  
A little while later, I came into circular clearing of trees. It was unusually dark inside the clearing, which I thought to be a little odd. As I came nearer, I saw that there was a fire pit in the center of the circle. I walked over to it, and it was still freshly smoldering. "That means that someone is probably out here with me.and that I not alone." I thought to myself, and felt a shiver go down my back. It was deathly quiet. I didn't like it at all. I started to walk out of the clearing, and walk around it instead. The feeling of someone watching me had come back again. "Crack". I heard the sound of someone stepping on a stick. I turned around quickly to see something rush past in the trees. I stopped dead and didn't move. I had no idea what to do. I dropped my arm and felt it brush against my sword. "My sword! I almost forgot about it!" Quietly, I drew it from the hilt and strained my ears for any other noise. There was none. But I was not convinced. "Whatever that was is still out there." I thought to myself, and the knowledge of that didn't make me feel good at all. I took a step towards the entrance to the clearing. Out of nowhere something shot out at me and took a hold of my sack. I felt the breathing of whatever it was down my neck.  
"You can win you silly little girl." I heard it say, and I fought to stay upright and lifted my sword to smash it down onto its head, but it looked up at me and saw what I was holding. I froze. "Slash it! Slash it! Come on, kill what ever that thing is!" I kept telling myself, but my arms wouldn't move. It felt like we both were frozen in time. I saw him reach into my sack and pull something out.my weather ball. A rage inside me that I had never known before grew.  
"Let go!" I screamed, and brought the sword down with an earsplitting crack. But when I looked down at the ground, nothing was there, and my weather ball was gone.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * 


	6. Chapter 5

With my weather ball gone, it felt like a part of me had been ripped away. I had nothing still with me that was formally familiar. Now I had a true treasure to search for, one that I knew I absolutely had to find. It wasn't just about the villagers now, I was a part of it. It felt like my search had more of a purpose, kind of like it was meant to happen. I knew one thing for sure, and that was that I was not coming back without it.  
I sat there on the ground for what seemed like forever, lost in my mind, thinking what could have happened if I had moved a little sooner. I had no idea who the stranger was, but something about it seemed really familiar. I tried to remember what it had said. I know it whispered something to me, and I strained my brain to remember those words. And slowly, one by one they came to me. "You can't win you silly little girl."  
  
"You can't win." I said out loud, repeating what he had said. "You silly little girl.you silly. little. girl." "You silly little girl." I had heard those words before. Someone had said them to me. I knew they had sounded familiar to me. I didn't remember anyone recently saying those words out loud to me. "Maybe a dream?" I said to myself. "A dream! That's it! The dream I had!" Quickly the events of the night that I had come into this land flooded back into my head. I remembered the weather ball, and the noise it had made. I also remembered that I was having a dream when I woke up. And someone in the dream said those words to me. "Could it have been the same person?" I said to myself. I stared at the ground to try to string my thoughts together. There was some sort of puzzle, some sort of clue here I wasn't getting. I didn't know enough. I needed more. "Wait.didn't Daeloneil say there would be some soft of path for me or something once I got over the mountain? Maybe I can get some answers if I finish the first trial." I thought to myself, and got up off the ground. I really hoped that that thing wouldn't come back, and glanced around nervously. It was still quiet, but this time the quietness seemed to comfort me a little. I walked out of the clearing and looked up at the sky. It looked about five o'clock. I decided to continue to trek up the mountain. It looked like I was about one third up the way. With a heavy sigh, I picked up my feet and continued up the mountain.  
By about eight o'clock, I was dead on my feet. I had never been so tired. I found a stream, and collapsed on the bank. I laid there for a few minutes, and listened to the trickle of the water. It was an extremely soothing sound, and before I could stop myself I had fallen asleep.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * 


	7. Chapter 6

I woke up the next morning tasting wet dirt. I was still on the bank but had rolled down a little onto the wetter soil. I pushed myself up off the ground. My head felt dizzy and my feet were asleep. I leaned over the water and splashed some into my face to wake me up. The cold stinging sensation felt really good. There was no breeze and it was still a little dark. "Well, I guess I survived my first night." I thought to myself, and got up off the ground. I stretched my arms into the air and felt my stomach rumble. I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday's lunch. I opened my sack and put my hand inside. My fingers stopped moving and I remembered that my weather ball was now gone. Every time I looked at the sack now, it would remind me of what happened.  
"Well Jennifer, you aren't going to get to eat anything while you are mourning over something that can't be fixed right now." I said to myself and finished getting out my food. While I ate, I felt a sad expression cross my face and my mouth drop. I just couldn't forget it. It was too vivid and to soon not to remember something like that.  
"Well then fine, I will remember it. But I won't let it stop me from finishing my task." I said aloud, and felt a little better at my firmness. The thought might bother me, but my thoughts weren't going to stop my actions. I picked up my things and started my hike again. By now, I was almost up the side of mountain. The sun was coming into the sky, and the air was starting to warm up.  
The hike was getting harder and steeper, and my legs were moving slower. It seemed as if I would never make it to the top. I stopped to rest at a giant tree for a second and took a look around. I looked for signs that other people had been here. There were no fire pits or tree looking shelters. "There must be some people out here who are good." I thought to myself. I continued my walk up the mountain, keeping my eyes ahead of me at the horizon.  
After a while, I started getting a little bored walking and took out my herb book. I started finding some more plants to add to my collection. I had no idea what was on the other side of the mountain, so it was probably a good idea to start collecting things now. I walked around with my head searching the ground for basil and edible mushrooms. I looked over by a tree and saw what looked like a few mushrooms growing under it. As I approached the tree, something stopped me. I looked past it and saw a figure crouched on the ground next to a small fire. It seemed weird that strangely a second ago, I didn't see it at all or hear a cracking fire. I crept quietly towards the tree not making a noise on the soft ground. I could hear the person mumbling quietly. It sounded like it was talking to another person, but no one was there. Half of me wanted to go and meet the person, the other half wanted to just walk away. "Remember what happened to your weather bal,." I kept telling myself. I couldn't make out what it was saying, so I crept a little closer.  
"No, no, no, that won't do. It doesn't have the green on the tips." I heard it say. I decided that I wouldn't find out anything by just standing there listening, so I tightened my grip on my pack and slowly took a step forward.  
"Um.excuse me." I said to it. Before I had a chance to say anything else, it whipped out a knife faster than I could blink, it to my neck even faster.  
"Whoa...hold up. I'm not going to hurt you or anything." I said, shaking a little. It was a man, and he looked fairly young. He looked me in the eye as if he was seeing into my soul. I tried not to blink. I didn't want to look as if I was lying.  
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" He asked in a stern tone without removing the knife. I didn't really want to tell him why I was here, that was my own business. Besides, Daeloneil had told me not to trust anyone but myself, and I was going to take his advice.  
"My name is Jennifer, and why I am here I will not tell you," I said to him, trying not to sound afraid. He looked at me, as if expecting me to shoot fire out of my eyes or something. Then he sort of shook his head as if changing his mind.  
"Fair enough." He said, and removed the knife from my neck. "My name is Luein and I am out gathering ingredients for my medicines. But I have never seen you out here before," He said to me and looked at my clothing. "Actually, it has been an extremely long time since I have seen one of your kind out of the village. I began to think you were wiped out." I looked at him and didn't say anything. At least I knew one thing for sure, he wasn't from the village, but at least he seemed friendly. He looked at me again with a searching eye, as if looking for something threatening. His eyes landed on my bow and sword at my belt.  
"You good with those?", he asked offhandedly and motioned toward them.  
  
"Oh you mean these? Oh, well, yea I'm alright," I said back to him. I didn't think he considered me much of a threat. I noticed he was holding some herbs in his hands. They looked like the ones in my book.  
"Are those medicinal herbs?" I asked him, pointing at the plants in his hands.  
"Uh-well.yes, yes they are." He said to me, a little taken aback.  
"Oh, well, I have a good supply in my sack. I can give you some if you like. It would save you the trouble of finding them," I said, and bent down and opened my sack. He immediately held his knife at me as if half expecting me to pull out a weapon or something. I took out my bag and handed him a few of the ones he was holding. He took them, looking disbelieving. He sniffed them, then, looking satisfied, put them into a bag of his own.  
"Thank you." He said, this time, his voice a little kinder. Almost instantly, I had an idea.  
"If you don't mind me asking," I said to him, "Do you travel this mountain often?" He looked at me a bit suspiciously, then cleared his throat  
"Yes I do. Why do you ask?" He answered.  
"Do you know, maybe, a quick way over the mountain?" I asked him. I was feeling a little nervous, asking for help from a person I didn't even know. But it would help if there was a quicker way.  
"A faster way? Why, yes there are many paths over the mountain. Are you trying to get over?" He asked me.  
"Uh huh." I said. For a second he looked at me differently, like with a new light.  
"As it so happens, I am also traveling over the mountain. I am from the other side."  
"From the other side? Do.do you think you could take me over, then?" I asked. He looked at me with a big grin on his face.  
"I would be glad to." He said in an important voice. "I suggest though, that we start in the morning. It is very important that I finish collecting my herbs tonight. If I don't return with all the ones I need, I could get into a lot of trouble. Is that okay with you?" He asked, looking hopeful.  
"Oh, of course. I wouldn't want to disrupt what you came here to do, but are you sure you can take me? I mean, we don't even know each other." I said to him.  
"It's no problem at all, really." He answered. "I'm heading your way anyway. It would be nice to have someone to talk to, and we could get to know each other on our way there," he finished, and I smiled at him. I nodded in agreement, and sat down on the ground in front of the fire. He sat down next to me, and for a few minutes we just stared into the fire, not saying anything. "Should I trust him?" I thought. "He seems nice.and its not like he knows why I'm really here. For all I know, he could really come in handy soon. His friendship and skills." I added in thought, and made the decision to trust him enough to get me over the mountain.  
"Well, I'd better go and finish getting my plants." He said, and got up off the ground. "You can help me.if you like." He said with a half smile.  
"I don't know a whole lot about herbs, but I'd be happy to do my best to help you however I can." I answered back and, we got up off the ground in unison. He showed me what he was looking for and in what areas I could find it. After, we set out together in search of the herbs he was looking for.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * 


	8. Chapter 7

It took us awhile to find all the plants Luein needed, and by the time we did, it was dark. We had talked a little bit and I learned some about his family and where he was from. From what he told me, there was supposedly a shrine and village on the other side of the mountain where he lived. The shrine was to honor some sort of god that protected the mountain. This interested me and I asked him lots of questions. He gladly told me everything that I wanted to know, and by the time we were finished with dinner, I knew the entire history of the mountain and village.  
The next morning we set out in hopes of reaching the other side by midday. While on the way there, he asked me lots of questions about my family and history.  
"So where do you live?" He asked me with interest. I wasn't sure I wanted to answer. I didn't think he had ever heard of California or the United States, and I wasn't sure he would believe my story that I had fallen through a portal into his world. I decided to be safe and tell him that I was from the Elvin village.  
"Oh, I'm just from the village on my side." I told him.  
"You are?"  
"Didn't I just say so?"  
"But I thought only elves lived in that village." He said to me, and stopped walking. "You're not an elf. I can tell because of your ears." I stopped walking beside him and caught a gasp in my throat. "Uh-Oh...I don't think this is good. Now he might think I've been lying to him." I thought. Quickly, I racked my brain for an excuse.  
"Uh...um.t-that's because I'm not." I said in a rush, "There was an immigrant exchange not too long ago. and I was one of them." Even I was surprised at how good it sounded when it came out of my mouth.  
"Oh. Okay that makes sense." He said, and smiled. I started walking again and he followed me. "That was really close." I said to myself, and headed in his direction up the mountain.  
We didn't say anything for a few hours, and just paid more attention to the scenery and the horizon above. I had a feeling he knew I was up to something, and I didn't like the thought that I was lying. I really wanted to be truthful, but I could lose so much if Luein turned out to be a traitor. So I kept my secretes to myself, and for the rest of the walk I fixed my eyes on the trail ahead.  
Luein's prediction turned out to be correct. By noon, we had finally reached the top of the mountain. There weren't many trees around and the wind whipped fiercely at our faces. It was surprisingly cooler and I hugged my arms around my chest. I looked down below and saw a mass of trees below. This side of the mountain was more over grown and not as steep. I guessed this was why I couldn't see a little village and a small shrine at the bottom as I expected.  
We stopped under a hanging over rock and had lunch without much conversation. The silence was causing a little tension for me and I decided to say something.  
"Um.thank you very much Luein for doing this." I said. He jumped a little at my words.  
"Oh, it is no problem at all. Really." He said back. He seemed to look a little better now that I had talked to him. "We should be down this side in about a day if we keep up this pace. It is much faster because it isn't as steep."  
"We can go as fast as you want to." I said to him. I was eager to see his village, and especially the shrine, so I had no problem at all in hurrying up.  
"Ok then. If we want to get halfway down before dark, then we shouldn't waste any more time up here." He said  
"Sounds good to me. Lets go," I answered and started to pack up. After about 5 minutes, we were ready to leave and carefully made our way down from the top.  
The walk was much easier, so we picked up our pace a little bit and reached halfway much sooner than we had expected. We stopped anyway and had dinner before it had even turned dark. We decided to go to bed early, and fell asleep immediately.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * 


	9. Chapter 8

I awoke the next morning to the sound of a bird whistling in a tree nearby. It was a robin and it looked like it was sitting in a nest full of eggs. It looked at me with its beady eyes and took off in the direction of the sun. "Probably getting its breakfast."  
"Actually, breakfast sounds like a really good idea." I said aloud and looked over at Luein, who was still sound asleep. I decided not to wake him up yet and got up off the ground. I took a deep breath, and the cool air felt sharp and cold in my throat. I walked over the fire pit we had been using the night before and got a small fire going quickly. The warmth spread instantly and it felt really good against my face. I started to get breakfast ready and heated up some water. I took a few potatoes out of my food supply and started to peel them, but I heard some rustling on the ground and the sound of someone grunting. I turned my head over my shoulder and saw Luein waking up. He sat up and looked at me, still half asleep. He rubbed his eyes, got up off the ground and stretched.  
"I'm going for a dip." He said, and went off to a nearby stream.  
"Alright. I should be done by the time you get back." I said as he skipped off. About fifteen minutes later, breakfast was ready, and I heard Luein whistling as he came down a path towards me from taking his bath. He sat down on the ground next to me and we ate our breakfast, talking happily about how close we were to getting off the mountain and into the village. He told me how much I would like his village, and how nice all the people there were. The only thing I really wanted to see was the shrine, but I didn't share this with Luein. He had already shown me great courtesy in taking me over the mountain in the first place, and I didn't want to sound ungrateful or that I was using him.  
After breakfast, we packed up and were ready to go within a few minutes. We took one last look at the top of the mountain above us, and made our way down again. The scenery was much the same, and there were many more trees as we made our decent. The air was getting warmer, and I could feel myself starting to sweat a little. I think Luein noticed this too, because he took off the cloak he had been wearing after he got back from his swim in the stream. We slowed our pace and tried to cool down a little bit, but it didn't do much. The closest we got to getting any cooler was when we stopped by a creek to wash up. It felt really good at the time, but after we continued walking, the effect of it started to fade away and we were back to our original state.  
Luein was right about an easier walk down, because it wasn't so steep, but the amount of trees was horrendous. The trees blacked out the sun until it almost looked dark. It was more important now to watch the ground, so any sort of talking was out of the question. All of our energy had been toward watching out for snake holes and tree branches. With the silence, I was able to think to myself without interruption. I needed some time to think about what had happened recently anyway. My main thought was about this shrine. I didn't know why, but something about it really interested me. I had the strangest feeling it had something to do with my adventure, but I wasn't sure what. "Daeloneil also said that at the end of this trial, there would be a path to follow. I wonder what kind of path he meant by that?" I said to myself, and had a hundred more questions spreading through my head like wild fire. But I wasn't able to answer any of them, because within a matter of seconds, I had stumbled out into a clearing, and what I saw in front of me made my heart stop and I stopped breathing.  
Right in front of me stood the most beautiful building I had ever seen. Luein stopped next to me, and looked amazed as well. There was a strange gold glow issuing from it and it almost looked like it was floating off of the ground. There were no windows that I could see, but the light seemed to be coming from within, almost through the walls. There were strange markings on the outside and the opening had a ramp of tattered looking stairs that led inside. There was no door, but a small opening. I couldn't see inside because the glow had blocked out and noticeable objects. The building was circular, and it looked like it had been made out of some sort of yellow stone. The glow coming from inside made the yellow of the walls look golden and it sparkled like diamonds. I tore my eyes away from it for a second to see Luein, and his facial expression was just as I felt. Then a thought came to me. "Wait.aren't we close to the bottom of the mountain? Wouldn't Luein know about this place?"  
"L.Luein. D-don't you know about this building? I mean, don't you live around here?" I said to him with a shaky voice. But he didn't say anything. He just hung his mouth open and kept staring at the building. I put my hands on his shoulders and shook him a little bit. He blinked and shook his head as if trying to shake off a feeling he didn't like.  
"I don't know what happened to it. What is going on?" He said to no one in particular.  
"Luein! What are you talking about? What do you know about this place? What's going on?"  
"Jennifer, this.this is the shrine." He said, and looked at me with big eyes. "Except.there's something not right. It used to be just an old stone building and there was no glow coming from it. I hope there's nothing wrong! This has been here longer than my great-great-great- Grandmother! The village would go absolutely nuts if anything happened to it!" And with that Luein grabbed my hand and ran inside dragging me behind him.  
I felt a rush of something go by my face as I stepped inside with Luein. I turned around and saw my self facing a glowing golden wall. I reached out to touch it but someone poked me in the side and started to whisper in my ear.  
"Jennifer.I think you should turn around," said Luein's familiar voice. I did as I was told and slowly turned around to face whatever was in front of me. A girl stood in the center of the golden mist and next to her a sort of stone stand. She didn't look solid and I could see through her easily. On the stand was a velvet looking sort of cloth bag. I moved my eyes toward the girl. As soon as they reached her face, I knew instantly who she was. I made a little gasp of surprise. Standing in front of me was no other then Nerwen Sirfalas herself.  
She smiled and took the bag in to her hands and took a step forward to me.  
"I have been waiting for you to come, Jennifer. And now that you are finally here, I can explain everything." She said in a misty voice. I just stared at her, dumbstruck at what I was seeing. I looked at Luien. He lifted a shaky finger and pointed at her, his lips trembling.  
"You're. You're Nerwen!! The Elvin princess! Here! In our shrine!" He said, and took a step backward.  
"Luien, it's alright. Let me take care of this." I whispered into his ear, although I really didn't know how exactly what I was going to do.  
"Jennifer? You...you knew about this? And you didn't say anything to me?" He said, his eyes widening.  
"I'll explain everything later, so just stay still for a second." I told him, and put a hand on his shoulder. Then I turned back around to face Nerwen. She just stood there, smiling at me with her sparkling eyes fixed on mine. Then she stepped forward to me and held out the velvet bag she was holding.  
"Jennifer, this is for you. Inside this bag you will find a token for completing your first trial. It is extremely important that you do not lose it. I can only give you one, so take great care in keeping it safe." She said calmly, and put the bag into my hands. It was dark brown, with a piece of rope threaded through the top to keep it closed. "You will get one of these each time you complete a trial, each a different color to represent the region in which you were in." She said, and I nodded in with understanding. "I know that Daeloneil told you there would be something to point you ahead on your path once you climbed over the mountain." Nerwen continued, keeping her voice at a low hum. "I will point you in the direction of your next task. To continue your journey and to find your treasure, you must seek out a miracle to revitalize the hope in ones heart. By doing so, the many souls of despair will be reborn." She finished, and smiled.  
"A miracle? I have to find a miracle? How am I supposed to do that?" I asked her, really confused.  
"That, I am afraid I cannot tell you," she said. "You must find that out on your own. But I can say this: What it was that you lost, you will most certainly find if you look in the right places." And before I had a chance to say anything, she slowly faded away in the mist, her eyes still fixed on mine, her smile still brandishing the thoughts of confusion in my head.  
Slowly, all of the golden glow that surrounded us faded away also until everything was back to the way it was before Nerwen was there. I clenched the bag in my hands, feeling something pointy inside. Slowly, I opened it to see what was inside. It held a diamond cut stone, and it shined a brilliant brown. I looked over at Luein, now remembering him for the first time since Nerwen had appeared. He was looking at me with his mouth hanging open, with absolute bewilderment on his face. I opened my mouth to say something, but instantly his face turned into a frown and he looked away.  
"You know, you could have trusted me. I wouldn't have done anything to jeopardize your chances of finding your "treasure." Why did you lie to me?" He asked with a stern tone, and looked at me with anger in his eyes.  
"Listen, Luein, just...Just before I met you, I was attacked." I said to him, hoping he would turn around and listen to my plea. He did, and his frown disappeared a little. Then I continued with my story.  
"I had something stolen that was very important to me." I continued, and tears started forming in my eyes. "I didn't know what to do. I thought they were going to kill me, and I tried to protect myself, but they took it anyway. And.and.when I met you, I didn't know who you were at all. I had no idea if you were with him, or if you were just a traveler. And what I came here to actually do, to help all of those people.You don't know how terrible it would be if I couldn't finish it! All of them! They are all counting on me! Do you have any idea what it's been like knowing all of that?" I told him, now realizing that he had every right to be mad, and it was my mistake taking him for granted. "Before I started, someone told me not to trust anyone." I continued, tying to make him understand. "And after that incident, I decided to believe that. Please listen to me Luein. I am very sorry." I finished, now my eyes red and swollen from crying. He looked at me, and was frowning again. Except this time, he wasn't angry. He looked like he understood, and walked over to me.  
"I-I didn't know. I had no idea." He said, and put his arms around me in a comforting hug. I didn't say anything back, but just stood there in his arms crying softly. After a minute or so, he pulled away.  
"It's alright. C'mon lets go." He said, and put his arm around my shoulder and we walked out of the shrine into the sunlight.  
Once we got outside, we both sat down on the ground. I still had the stone in my hands and I kept turning it around in my fingers, feeling its smoothness and thinking about what had just happened.  
"You know Jennifer, if you need any help, any help at all on this adventure of yours, I will be more than happy to accompany you." I didn't say anything back. It would be nice to have a partner, but what if something happened to him? I would be responsible if he got hurt or killed.  
"That's really nice of you, Luein, but I'm afraid it might get really dangerous. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you." I said to him.  
"I don't care if something happens to me," he answered. "You defiantly need some help. You can't do it all alone. Please let me come with you."  
"I don't know. Let me think about it." I said and stood up. My legs felt like jelly, and my head was swimming in a pool of water. There was so much to think about. My mind felt like it was going to explode. Luein looked like he noticed this and quickly got up after me.  
"You know what, I think you need some rest." He said, and put an arm around my shoulder. "You can think about all of this later. Let me take you back to my village, and you can get a proper nights' sleep before jumping into this mess." I felt too tired to protest, and so we walked to his village, and I tried to keep my mind off of everything.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * 


	10. Chapter 9

I cracked my eyes open and found myself looking at a ceiling. I didn't want to get up, or move. I guessed I was in a bed, and it was extremely comfortable. The sheets smelled like jasmine, and I could feel myself slipping off to sleep once more, but the sound of voices kept my ears open. I could hear a woman's, and a familiar one I couldn't place. My brain didn't want to work, and I didn't want to force it to. But the woman walked in the room before I had a chance to close my eyes, and her scream of surprise was enough to wake anybody up.  
"Oh! Look who finally decided to wake up!" I heard her say, and actually, her voice was sort of comforting, like a mothers. It felt like it had been a long time since I had heard a mother's voice. Suddenly I remembered my own. I almost half wished that it was my mom who had said those words, instead of this person I didn't know. And then I shook my head. What was I thinking? I didn't want my mom here. She would only do her freak out mom thing and be stupid. I quickly forgot about her and focused on listening to the woman talking to me.  
"Why, I was thinking you were going to sleep the day away!" She said brightly, and opened a few curtains in the room. The sunlight spilled in like magic, and every place where there was a window, a beam of light cast itself upon the floor, illuminating the whole room. I sat up in bed, and noticed that I wasn't wearing the same clothes I had bed the previous day before. It took me a minute to realize where I was, and it seemed funny that I didn't notice it right away. I was in Luein's village, and this woman I suspected to probably be his mother. I watched her as she scurried about the room tidying things up. She looked to be a little taller than Luein, with curly dark brown hair that came to her shoulders. She wore a white apron over a red dress that was designed with little flowers, and laced cuffs. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, and she looked like she had been working for a while.  
"Did you sleep well?" She asked me, with a big smile spread across her face.  
"Uh yes, I did." I answered back  
"Good! Breakfast will be ready soon, so you'd better get yourself up out of bed before it gets cold." She hustled out of the room, and closed the door behind her. I was still in bed, and I sat there for a second or two before actually moving. Slowly, the memories of the previous day were floating back into my mind. I remembered the shrine, Nerwen, the token she had given me, when Luein got angry with me, and the clue to the next task I was supposed to finish. I suddenly felt very glad and lucky to be in his cozy house right now, and not pressured to think about what I was to do next, which I would have had to do if I had never met Luein in the first place.  
I got out of bed, and looked over at a chair to see my clothes and a wash basin. All of my other things had been put on a desk next to it. I saw my sack lying on the desk, still open. I looked a little closer, and saw that there was something silvery sticking out of the top. I walked over to it, and pulled it out. It was the silver box Lord Daeloneil had given me. "Oh my gosh! I completely forgot about this!" I said myself in surprise. I slowly opened it up to se that it was empty. All that was there was its velvet black lining. And then I remembered what Daeloneil had said about it. "As long as this box is closed, it cannot be opened by anyone but you." The words revolved in my head, until I remembered what Nerwen had told me. "Inside this bag you will find a token for completing your first trial. It is extremely important that you do not lose it. I can only give you one, so take great care in keeping it safe."  
"The token!" I said aloud, suddenly remembering it. I picked up my sack and stuck my hand in it and felt around for the velvety feeling of the bag. My fingers brushed past it, and I let my fingers clasp around the bag and I pulled it out. I quickly opened the little bag and took out the stone. Now, in one hand I I still had the silver box, and in the other, the stone. It almost seemed stupid that I hadn't thought about this right after I had gotten the token. It obviously was something of great importance, and if I lost it, like Nerwen had said, I wouldn't be getting another one. I opened the silver box, and placed the stone inside. "Now nobody's going to get it." I said to myself, and felt a little better knowing I had better control of my valuable items. I started to put the box back in the sack, when I heard the sound of Lueins mom from the other room.  
"Dear? Are you finished yet? Your breakfast is ready!" I heard her say, and quickly set the box into my sack and started to get dressed.  
Once I stepped out of the room, the smell of breakfast reached my nose. My stomach rumbled and I could feel that hungry pain growing every second. I looked around for a second to see my surroundings, and it looked like I was in an old time kitchen. Everything was made of wood, and there more than a few spots where the wood was burned black. There was sort of a homey feel to everything, and it made me feel comfortable. I looked around a little more, and my eyes rested on how many different colors the room seemed to have. There were mostly reds and yellows, but a few greens and blues were mixed in too. The curtains were sort of a small red flowery print, and they reminded me of the ones my mom had made for our house at home. There were many candles around the room, at least 3 per table or stand. The room was a little dim, but I guessed this was because all the curtains weren't pulled aside.  
I sat down at one of the tables, which was now covered in breakfast food. Luein was also seated at the table, along with two other people I didn't know. They were little girls, each looking to be about 7 or 8. Luein was teasing them, and lauging with a sparkle in his eye. He looked over at me amd smiled.  
"Did you sleep well?" He asked me, while taking hold of one of the girls' hands before it dumped over a milk pitcher.  
"Oh, I slept very well. Thank you." I answered. Both of the little girls suddenely stopped squirming under the hold of Luein, and looked at me with there big eyes.  
"Hey! She's awake!" Both of them said in unison, and rushed over to me and jumped in my lap.  
"Whoa!" I said, and laughed. The lady who woke me up turned around and started to laugh too, and soon, everybody was laughing. When we settled down a little bit, She walked over to me, and held out her hand.  
"I am Luein's Mother. You can just call me Abby." She said.  
"Ok. My name is Jennifer." I said back, now with a big grin on my face. I had a feeling I was really going to like this family.  
"These two," she started, pointing at the ones in my lap, "are Mitsy and Lenny. They are my daughters, and Luein's sisters. It seems that they have made a liking of you, Jennifer." She said with a smile. "Now, breakfast is ready. Everybody settle down at the table so we can eat."  
After about an hour, the plates were cleared, and the glasses empty. During our meal, I had learned a lot about Luein's family that he hadn't told me before. And actually, it was very interesting. I learned that his father wasn't here because he was gone on a long trip over a great body of water, and wasn't expected back for at least two years. He was on an expedition to help free immigrant slaves, who were being mistreated in the civilizations overseas. Hearing this saddened me. It deeply reminded me of the past events in my country. I decided not to say anything, and quickly tried to change the subject, but couldn't think of anything else to say. Luein seemed to notice this, and motioned to his mother to leave with his sisters. They cried and wailed a little bit, and I caught a few "B-But I want to sit with Jenfer!!" before there mother pulled them out of the kitchen and closed the door. After they were gone, Luein looked at me intently. I knew what was coming. I hadn't thought really thought about it all morning, and I didn't want to now either. But I knew I had to, so I prepared myself and took a deep breath.  
  
"Listen, I've been thinking," he said. "About me going with you on this journey. I don't care what you say or do, but I'm coming with you. There's no way you are going to do this all by yourself," he finished. I didn't want to argue with him. It would be nice to have someone with me, but I couldn't help but feel guilty about it. What if something happened to him? What would I tell his family? The thought of it absolutely horrified me. I looked at him, and his expression wasn't changeable.  
"Alright. I guess there's nothing I can do to stop you anyway," I said to him,. And his face spread into a pleased smile.  
"Well now that that's decided, we should probably think about the clue Nerwen gave us about the next task," he said. "The next task." I said to myself. Now that I was thinking about it, the weight of it seemed almost unbearable.  
"Let's review what Nerwen said about it," Luein said. "I think it was something like: 'Revitalize hope and seek out a miracle to help the souls in despair to be reborn."  
"Yea. It was something like that," I said, now concentrating on those words. "But I think she said something else too. It went something like this: 'And what you lost. You will most surly find if you look in the right pla-," but I stopped. "What you have lost..." I repeated the words in my head. "What I have lost."  
"My weather ball!" I said aloud, and jumped up from the table. "She was talking about my weather ball! I just know it!" And then I realized, that Luein probably had no idea what I was talking about.  
"Is there something you haven't told me, Jennifer?" Luein said, and I sat back down. He was right. I hadn't told him anything about my weather ball except for the fact that something of mine was stolen.  
"Actually yes. There is something you haven't been told." I said to him, and his face turned stern again. I took a deep breath, and proceeded to tell him everything that happened to my weather ball, until, after about an hour, Luein had known everything about me and journey I was on. "Well, there's no turning back now." I said to myself. "He now knows everything. The only thing I can do now is put all of my complete trust in him. And actually, now that I'm thinking about it, it doesn't seem like such a bad thing after all." We both sat there for a few minutes, staring at the wooden kitchen table.  
"So um...That's all I have to say." I said.  
"I see. Well, I'm guessing that finding your weather ball is an essential part of this trip, or Nerwen wouldn't have mentioned it." Luein said back.  
"I guess your right. But what do you think she meant when she said I have to 'look in the right places?"  
"I have no idea. But let's think. Maybe she thinks looking in the right places is something that you're supposed to do to find your treasure? Because you have to look in the right places to finish your tasks, right?" Luein said, his voice growing in excitement with every second. "Because if you don't, then you can't find your treasure!" He finished. I thought for a second. He had a point, but it seemed much to easy and to general.  
"But what if looking in the right places for my tasks isn't it. It might just be looking in the right places for some other clue," I said. "But what if it means.well, wait a minute. Let me think." I racked my brain for what I was looking for. The person who stole my weather ball was dark, and in a black cloak. His voice had sounded familiar, the same voice in my dream. But still. There's something about it that seems so strange. I know what it is. I've heard it before." And then it came to me. My eyes grew wide, and I felt my mouth drop open.  
"What? What is it?" I heard Luein say, but didn't pay much attention to it. "I've heard it before." I said again to myself. "No.I've read it before!"  
"That's it!" I said aloud. "I read it! In my book!"  
"What the heck are you talking about?" Luein said, with a confused look on his face.  
"I don't know why I didn't see it before, Luein! Its all fits! Remember when I was telling you how I really got here, just a few minutes ago? And how I read the ending of the book and made that wish? Remember the ending?" I said to him, my eyes growing wide. I saw him think for a second, and then watched his mouth hit the floor.  
"Yes! I remember!" He said, "It's him! The one who took your weather ball! He's the stranger who killed Nerwen!" We both sat there, staring at each other with wide eyes. "Well, we certainly looked in the right place." I told myself, happy that we finally found a clue to help us out.  
"Maybe that's what Nerwen meant," Luein said. "To remember your book so you would figure out her murderer was the one who stole your weather ball. But the only thing that still confuses me is how that is supposed to help us actually find your weather ball."  
"Yes, your right. How would that help me?" I said to him, my hopes falling a little.  
"Maybe she wants you to avenge for her death?"  
"Hmm.Well, no I don't think so," I said, thinking. "Daeloneil said she sacrificed herself to save her people. And that I would come to help her finish the task, so I don't think she wants me to kill the one who killed her. But." I stopped, and pondered if I wanted to say what was on my mind. "But if it gets in my way of completing what I came here to do, then I will do whatever it takes to get rid of it. Even if that means." I couldn't say anymore. I really didn't want it to have to come to that. I didn't want to have to kill anyone. Then the little voice rose inside of me: "But if it gets in my way."  
"Let's not think about that right now." Luein said, interrupting the thought in my head. "Let's forget about your weather ball for a minute and remember what else Nerwen told us. We still need to figure out her instructions to the next trial."  
"Oh, I guess your right. We haven't really figured out anything for that yet, have we?" I said, my hopes dropping even lower. Luein shook his head. "Ok then," I continued, rearranging my thoughts of the nest trial. "It had something to do with making people happy. I'm pretty sure of that. What else was it that she said?" I asked him.  
"She also said we have to find a miracle-to make someone happy. And.Wait! Didn't she also say something about a number of people? Not just one?" He said, his face brightening up.  
"Hey, yea! I think she did!" I said, remembering. "Wasn't it something like: 'the many souls will be reborn?"  
"That's it!" Luein said happily. "The many souls! There's more than one, but it almost sounds as if we are changing a whole community. The many souls will be reborn? I guess something horrible has happened to them." Luein finished, his face dropping into a frown.  
"Yea, and we have to fix it. We have to find a miracle to save them all." And then a thought crept up inside of me, making me think of what I had to do. "Kind of sounds like my mission, doesn't it?" I said to Luein, but he wasn't looking at me anymore. His face was sad, and I could barley see it from him looking down.  
"What is it, Luein? What's wrong?" I said to him, my concern growing.  
"I've just realized what it is that you need to do." He said, his face still downward. I had a feeling it wasn't going to be something I was going to like, and I leaned over the table to lift his head up.  
"Tell me, what is it? What's so horrible to say?"  
"No!" He said aloud, standing up from the table, causing it to shake. "I will not let you go to such a horrible place! You have no idea what's there, what it can do to you." He trailed off, and I noticed a tear falling from his cheek. "This place is obviously not a good one." I said to myself, but I couldn't help the curiosity growing inside of me. I walked over to him, and put an arm around his shoulder to comfort him the best I could.  
"Please tell me Luein. You know I have to do what ever it is, no matter what. And your coming with me, remember? I won't be alone." I finished, hoping this thought would comfort him. But to my surprise, he immediately pushed my arm away and looked at me with a horrible expression.  
  
"I.I.W-will n-not go back there a-again!" He said, and stifled a sob. "I c-can't! n-not there! P-please not there!"  
"Oh Luein, ple." But suddenly, the kitchen door burst open, and Luein's mother rushed inside.  
"I heard someone crying! What's the matter?" She said with concern, and looked over at her son. "Oh my! What's going on dear?" She said to him, and attempted to hug him. But he pushed her away and struggled another sob.  
"M-mother! S-she has to go to...t-to." Luein said, pointing at me. "T- to." Luein's voice dropped to a low whisper. "T-to.Orodreathin!" His mothers eyes got wide and she backed away from him.  
"O-O-Orodreathin, did you say, Luein?" His mother said, with a shaky tone in her voice. He nodded, and she turned to me.  
"I-I-advise you to not go there, Jennifer," His mother said. "If you value your life."  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * 


	11. Chapter 10

For the next few days, I tried not to bring up the subject about Orodreathin. The thought of me having to go there seemed to really upset Luein and his mom. A few times, I asked them why the place was so horrible, but then they would start crying all over again. After a while, this started to really annoy me, and on the dinner of the third night I was there, I decided I could not take it anymore. I stood up and cleared my throat. Luein's mother seemed to know what was coming, and quickly ushered Misty and Lenny out of the kitchen, then sat back down.  
"I am tired of both of you breaking down in sobs every time I mention Orodreathin." I said to both of them with a stern voice.  
"I have to go there, and watching you two cry is not going to stop me. If I do not get any help from either of you, then I will go out there alone, totally oblivious to the things that will be there. But if you help me, I might have a better chance to survive, considering the fact that you think I'm going to be blown to pieces the moment I step into it." I stopped, and looked intently at both of them. "Now will you help me or not?" Neither of them said anything, but looked at each other with sad faces.  
"You are right," said Luein. "I was foolish to think I could stop you. And." he paused, and took a deep breath. "I am still coming with you." He finished, saying every word with much effort. His mother started wailing, and I looked at her without a smile.  
"Now.Will you please tell me why this place is so bad?" I asked her, and she looked up at me with swollen eyes. Slowly, she nodded and wiped her tears with her sleeve.  
"Orodreathin is a dreadful place." She started, and straitened up in her chair. "Your worst memories are all that fill your mind while you are there. Most people do not believe these tales, as there are also stories that Orodreathin was once a place of peace and prosperity." She said, and took a deep breath. "But a long time ago, something happened. No one knows for sure what it was, but whatever it is, it was bad enough to make the inhabitants there to go crazy. They started killing themselves off, and some people say this is because of the mournful thoughts that are left in there mind. That is why I am afraid for you, dear." She said to me, with the sparkling of tears in her eyes. "I do not want to see you come to the same fate as them. Any person who still believed Orodreathin was unchanged, and still a place of happiness went there, and never came back. Sometimes.we can still here the screams of the poor souls who are being tortured in their minds there." She finished, and shuddered.  
"So.We need to go there to change that, and turn their souls of despair into souls of happiness once more." Luein said to me. "That is what we must do. And as you can see, that would take a miracle." I nodded in understanding, and sat back down in my chair, my mind now full of thoughts of the dreadful lives those poor people must be leading. "I guess I will be saving more than one village." I thought to myself, and found a couple of my own tears reaching my chin.  
"That is so sad." I said aloud, and stood up. "We need to save these people as soon as we can. I can't bear to think about how terrible there lives must be." But Luein and his mother didn't say anything. They just hung their heads down low again.  
"There is one more thing about them you should now, Jennifer." Luein said, his voice quieted down to a whisper. "They aren't people anymore. What I mean is after what happened to them, they sort of turned into an empty shell. On the outside, they might look like people, but on the inside, they are nothing."  
"How do you know so much about them?" I asked, curious that he had so much information, but his mother answered instead.  
"A while ago, one of them had escaped and wandered into our village." She said quietly. "Since our home is on the outskirts of the village, it was the first thing it came to." She stopped, as if not wanting to say anymore. "It wandered into our backyard, its clothes all greasy and holey." She started to cry again, and Luein walked over to comfort her. "I was in the kitchen so I didn't see it.b-but the girls were in the garden. And-And.They did see it." She finished, and broke into sobs.  
"We heard the girls crying." Luein said, "And we rushed out back to see it coming towards them. But before we could get to them, it stopped, looked at us, and dropped dead on the ground.right at the girls' feet." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was no wonder Luein's sisters were shooed out of the room every time the subject was brought up. The scene must have horrified them.  
"We didn't tell anybody on the village. We didn't want to start a commotion about it. There were enough rumors as it was, so we took the body and buried it deep in the forest where nobody would find it." He finished.  
"Oh. I-I'm so sorry." I said. I really wasn't sure what to say to something like that. "Well, just think of it this way. Luein and I are going to help these beings, so there won't be a problem anymore, and they will have good lives again. Think about that." I said, hoping to cheer them up. And to my surprise, it did. Luein's mother got up, and wiped her eyes again. She put her arms around me in a hug, and talked to me through muffled sobs.  
"That's right. You go and help those poor people, and when you come back, I want to see bright faces behind you!" She said.  
"Don't worry." I said to her, "You will."  
The next few of days were spent packing and preparing for the trip. I noticed Luein's skin becoming considerably whiter every morning, as if he was living some sort of nightmare endlessly, but I didn't say anything. The final night finally came, and we were all situated around the table, eating our last meal before we were to leave. Luein's mother kept dabbing her eyes with her napkin, and his sisters eyes stayed down at their plates. I had a feeling they knew something was going to happen, but didn't say anything because they knew they weren't supposed to know. The rest of the meal went by without a word said, and I was starting to feel a little tense. I helped clean up the dishes, and hurried off to my room after words. The very last thing I wanted was to mention our trip and to have Luein's mom cry all over herself, especially in front of her daughters. I walked over to my bed and turned off the lamp by the nightstand, and crawled into the covers. For a while I just laid their, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the next task. I had to admit, from the stories Luein and his mom said about Orodreathin, the thought of going there scared me a little. I started imagining horrid things, like what they looked like, and the evil things they did to each other. I tried to shake them from my mind, but it was becoming harder and harder to concentrate on what I was doing. Before I could fully erase the thoughts from my mind, slept over came me and the image of a crude looking person flickered before my eyes a last time.  
  
"I thought I told you to be careful with it! You know its going to brake! Its not made of stone you know!" I heard the voices saying, and I crept closer to the light coming from around the corner. A large painting on the wall across me caught my eye for a second, but then the voices had started again, so I looked back toward light around the corner.  
"I know it's not made of stone! I'm being careful with it!" The other voice said, and I came even closer.  
"Shhh!! You're being too loud! The first voice said, bringing his tone to a dull whisper. "Someone will hear us if we're too noisy. If we mess this up, oh, I don't want to even think about it."  
"Yea, your right Amras. L-"  
"Shhh!!!!! Don't say his name! What if someone's listening?" Amras interrupted, then suddenly they grew quiet. I walked a little closer, now extremely eager to what they were talking about. I knew I shouldn't have, they might have heard me, but they resumed their conversation without hearing my footsteps.  
"I'll just set it right here on the stand, and we can go get the stuff, ok?" The second voice said, and I heard the sound of glass chinking on stone.  
"No! We can't leave it hear! Some one might come and take it!" Amras said. This thing was obviously very important to them, and now I wanted to know what it was more then ever. They continued arguing, and I walked until I was right on the edge of the corner, just feet away from them. I nudged my shoulder on the wall to position my neck to look around, but suddenly the voices stopped.  
"Did you hear that, Amras? I think I heard something." The second voice said. Then, they said something to each other I could not understand, and I heard them walk out of the hallway to another corridor. Now was my chance, and I took a step out from behind the wall. But to my surprise, Amras and the other guy were standing there right in front of me, both with smirks on their face.  
"Well well well, look what we have here." Amras said, and pulled a sword from his belt.  
"Yes. It looks like we have a little spy, listening to every word we say." The second guy said. "You know what we do to such pests?" He continued, and drew his own sword. They both looked at each other, and smiled.  
"We exterminate them." They said together, and held there swords up in the air. With a swishing noise, they brought their swords down right on to my head, and I heard myself scream.  
  
I woke up and sat up with a start, and felt sweat running down my face and back. I was in bed, still in Luein's home. Moonlight was spilling through the curtains into the room, so that a little light danced across the floor. But what was in my mind was not that two strangers had almost just killed me, but what was sitting on that stone table between them. It was my weather ball.  
I kept repeating the dream over and over again. They had my weatherball, Amras and that other guy. They mentioned something about getting into a lot of trouble if they were heard or found. "Then that must mean that they weren't in a safe place if they couldn't talk freely." I said to myself, and crawled back under the covers. It was still dark outside, but the light from the early morning was slowly making its way into my room. I did my best to remember everything they had said, and the memory of something crept into my mind. "The hallway they were in". I said to myself. "That hallway. I've seen it somewhere before." I racked my brain for the connection I was looking for. I just knew I had been there before. It seemed so familiar. "But when do I go lurking around in hallways?" I said again to myself. And then a thought occurred to me. "Castles. Castles." I thought, and sat back up in bed.  
"Castles! That's it! That hallway was in a castle!" I said aloud, surprised at how long it had taken me to realize this. "That-That painting on the wall when I first entered the hallway." I continued again. And then I remembered, "When I first entered that hallway. The very first time I entered that hallway."  
"I was in Lord Daeloneil's Castle! And the hallway! That was the same painting of Nerwen!" I sat there, staring at the wall in my room, amazed at what I had just discovered. My weather ball was in Lord Daeloneil's Castle. And I was all the across the mountain. "But." Said a little voice inside me, "It was only a dream. You have no idea if it was real or not." I didn't want to think that. I liked the fact that I had seen it, and knew it was in a safe area. "No wonder they were so worried, hiding out in Daeloneil's castle. They probably worried they would get caught by all the guards." I said, trying to reassure myself. "But again." That little voice continued, "What in the world were they doing in there in the first place?" I didn't like this question, and that was because I didn't have a realistic answer for it. I had no idea what they were doing there. "But they had almost said someone's name, remember?" The voice said again, and I thought back to what it was that they had said. They were afraid of being caught, or breaking the weather ball, and of what there boss would do to them if they did.  
"It sounded like they were almost afraid of there leader." I said aloud, and tried to remember what they called him. "They said L- something." I remembered, and troed to think of all the people I knew that names started with L. "Well that's easy." I thought, "There's Luein."  
"Luein isn't a part of any of this. He hasn't given me any reason not to trust him." I said, and then remembered how he protested going to Orodreathin. "Maybe he was part of all this, and didn't want me going any further in my journey. Or, he's just keeping tabs on me, and staying close to watch me, to make sure I don't get too close to his plans." I finished, and then shook my head. "That's a bunch of nonsense. I don't know what I'm thinking." I thought. "Well, the only other person who it could be that you know of is Lord Daeloneil." Said the little voice.  
"No! It can't be him. Why would it be him?" I asked the voice. "Because for one, they are in his castle." It said, and I pondered this. It was true, and that would mean that he was their leader. That was probable. Daeloneil had enough power to have a secrete resistance to his kingdom.  
"But it's not true." I said, and shut my eyes to block the images of Daeloneil being behind it all. I decided it wasn't true, and I wasn't going to believe it. "It was just a silly dream." I thought, and let myself fall back into my pillows.  
And if I hadn't been so absorbed in the dream I had, I would have noticed the light spilling through my window. But I fell asleep, only to be woken up minutes later by a sobbing mother.  
"L-Lets g-get up n-now." I heard Luein's mother say through a mouthful of sobs. "C`mon, time to get moving." She repeated, and opened my window. I tried to fall back asleep, and not notice she was there, but I knew too that Luein and I should get an early start. His mother walked out of the room and closed the door for my privacy while I started getting dressed. The events of the night started to creep back into my mind, and I couldn't help but think about them. I decided not to share my dream, or my thoughts about the fact that Daeloneil might be betraying me. I didn't need to bother Luein with anything more.  
I finished dressing, and packed up my sack with my belongings. I had almost forgotten how light it was, and expecting it to be heavy, I accidentally flung it too hard over my shoulder and it hit the mirror off the dresser. I bent down to pick it up, but as I was reaching for it, my eyes caught something wedged in between the wall and the back of the dresser. My hand reached for it, but then I stopped. I looked down into the mirror now laying on the floor, and when I saw it in made me gasp. It was my weather ball! " "But how could that be?" I said to myself, and looked onto the crack in between the dresser and wall. "How is that possible? How could it fit back there? There's no room!" I thought again, and looked back into the mirror. There it was, just sitting in there as if the dresar had suddenely moved out 5 inches from the wall. I looked at the thing that was wedged in the wall and the dresser that had caught my eye the first time. It defiantly wasn't my weather ball, and I searched and felt all along the crack, feeling for it. It wasn't there. But the mirror still showed it as clear as day. I looked down again at the wedged object. I tried pulling at it, but it wouldn't budge. It felt like something metal, it was cold between my fingers. It wasn't that big either. In fact, if I hadn't been deliberately looking at, I wouldn't have seen it at all. I tugged at it some more, this time with a little more force, and it came out, throwing me backwards a little. I looked at it, and saw that it was an old key with strange markings on it. I looked at the mirror again, but this time, instead of my weather ball, it showed a key hole. A key hole behind the dresser. A key hole that this key would fit into, by the looks of it. I looked into the crack in the wall and dresser again, but didn't see anything. I got up, and looked at the dresser, looking at the place where the mirror was previously. I didn't see anything, and went around, inspecting the other side. I decided to move the dresser away from the wall, to see if I could see anything. With some effort, I was able to push out of the way, but not with out making a lot of noise on the wooden floor.  
"Dear! Are you alright in there?" I could hear Luein's mother ask.  
"Yes! I'm fine! I just hit the nightstand!" I yelled back, now aware to be more quiet. I turned back to the wall and saw the key hole there, just as the mirror had showed. I took a deep breath, and put the key into the hole and turned it. I heard a "Click" and slowly, as if like magic, a door melted into the wall where the dresser once was. A doorknob appeared, and my hand reached for it slowly. My fingers itched for it, I could feel them getting closer.closer.And then, suddenly, I heard my name. Like someone from far away was calling me. The closer my fingers got to the knob, the louder it got. I tried to block it out, but I couldn't. I turned my attention back to the knob, and felt my fingers close around it. But as soon as I touched it, the door burst open with Luein's mother.  
"JENNIFER!" I heard someone scream, and then before I could do anything, the whole room went wavy, and something jerked me from behind and everything went black. 


End file.
